Skylark

Lark lives in a world powered by magic; since the war, however, magic is in short supply, so the small bits of magic with which children are born are siphoned off by the city when the children reach a certain age. Fifteen-year-old Lark hasn't been chosen for harvesting yet, and people, including Lark herself, are beginning to wonder why. When she's finally selected, it turns out to be for an unusual harvesting indeed, and she escapes into the wilderness to avoid becoming a human battery for the city's power supply. Once on the run, she meets a wild boy who helps her survive the terrors of the world outside the city walls, and she finds a settlement of folks like her--people with particularly strong magic that renews itself rather than dissipating as they grow older. The settings are fantastic in both meanings of the word, and they're beautifully drawn; Lark's experiences add further rich detail. Unfortunately, there's never really a full explanation of why Lark's power is different not only from others in the city but from other Renewables, and readers never learn why or how magical resources got scarce in the first place. That may be enough to generate sustained interest in the meantime. Shades of Lowry's The Giver (BCCB 4/93), Bick's Ashes (BCCB 10/11), Pullman's His Dark Materials (BCCB 4/96, 11/97, 1/01), The Matrix Trilogy, and even elements of steampunk wisp throughout the narrative at different points, but coherence depends overmuch on the temporal narration of Lark's journey, which becomes attenuated and a little dull as she faces one unrelated danger after another. Readers who enjoy speculating about gaps that may or may not be filled may nonetheless enjoy this techno-fantasy dystopian mashup.

"This heavily anticipated dystopian debut mostly lives up to its hype. Lark Ainsley is 16, older than most kids when their Resource gets harvested. All she wants is to quietly contribute to the City's daily operation. But Lark finds out she is a Renewable, a hugely unfortunate creature who has the rare ability to power the City as it struggles to protect its citizens from the outside world long devastated by the ancient Wars. Held against her will and tortured in ways described with relentless, excruciating detail, Lark finally manages to escape. As she travels the blighted landscape of the world outside her domed City, she encounters terrors as seemingly benign as the sky (which she has never before seen) to those as treacherous as trees with razor teeth. Magic and technology blend seamlessly here, although the emphasis on exposition rather than dialogue sometimes bogs down the pages. The current demand for grim YA renditions of a dystopian future, plus the splashy landing, will likely ensure a significant readership for fans of the genre." --Booklist

"Intense and absorbing, Skylark transported me to a world of magic and danger unlike anything I've read before. I loved Lark, and was riveted by her journey of survival and self-discovery. Dark, original, and beautiful, this is a novel you don't want to miss." --Veronica Rossi, author of Under the Never Sky

"Skylark's rich narrative and plucky heroine will transport you into a mesmerizing and horrifying world." --New York Times bestselling author Carrie Jones